These momentum shares have been wildly volatile in recent
sessions after a sharp selloff that began in March on concerns
about their high valuations.

"I think it's stabilizing a little bit for those stocks.
Some would say they're still overvalued, but they've come down
enough that it doesn't seem they have that much further to fall.
Now people are trying to pick up bargains, and some of those
stocks have been going up," said Giri Cherukuri, head trader at
OakBrook Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois.

The Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks climbed
2.4 percent, its biggest daily percentage gain since early
March. At its session low Friday, the index was down exactly 10
percent from the intraday record high set in early March. A
correction, which is a drop of 10 percent from a recent high, is
often seen as a harbinger of more weakness. The iShares Russell
2000 ETF rose 2.3 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 112.13 points
or 0.68 percent, to 16,695.47, a record closing high. The Dow
also hit an intraday record high of 16,704.84.

The S&P 500 rose 18.17 points or 0.97 percent, to
1,896.65, also a record closing high. The Nasdaq Composite
climbed 71.99 points or 1.77 percent, to 4,143.859.

The rally came despite a vote by pro-Russian rebels in
favor of self-rule in eastern regions of the country in a
referendum dismissed by Kiev and Western governments as illegal.
The European Union is set to step up pressure on Russia by
taking steps to extend sanctions to companies, as well as
individuals.

U.S.-listed shares of Indian companies and India-related
exchange-traded funds also rose as exit polls in India predicted
that the country's main opposition party - viewed as more
business friendly - would win general elections. Among ETFs, the
Wisdom Tree India Earnings Fund gained 3.7 percent.

In the latest development on deals in the healthcare sector,
shares of U.S. drugmaker Allergan Inc dropped 1 percent
to $159.72 after the company, known for Botox, its popular
anti-wrinkle treatment, rejected Valeant Pharmaceuticals
International Inc's takeover offer of $47
billion. Valeant's U.S.-listed shares slipped 0.8 percent to
$130.16.

Tesaro Inc jumped 21 percent to $29.05 after the
company said its experimental drug to prevent
chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting met the main goal in a
third late-stage trial.

About 5.7 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges,
below the 6.2 billion average for the month to date, according
to data from BATS Global Markets.

Advancers outnumbered decliners on both the New York Stock
Exchange and the Nasdaq by a ratio of about 4 to 1.
(Editing by Jan Paschal)